Sunderland's first friendly was cut short amidst farcical scenes on Saturday. The Black Cats were leading at the break against Rangers when the lights went out at the Estadio Municipal de Albufeira, and all power inside the ground was lost.
It came just as the teams made their way back onto the field for the second half but, after a delay of around 45 minutes in which no-one seemed to know what was happening, eventually the decision was made to abandon the match. It was hardly the start that Sunderland wanted to their pre-season trip to Portugal, and it disrupted Alex Neil's carefully made plans whereby he had mapped out which players would get 90 minutes, which 60, and which 30.
The electricians will be at the ground in the next few days to ensure there is no repeat when Sunderland take on Roma in their second and final friendly out here before they return home on Wednesday. But at least the Roma game is an 11am kick-off, so floodlights will not be a factor.
